>> P.S. On a completely different matter, I'd be interested in
> comments on the Scala language (http://scala.epfl.ch/) by
> Erlang experts. It can be used in a fairly pure functional
> style using val declarations, and it seems to support
> Erlang-style message exchange (see chapter 3 of "Scala by
> Example" http://scala.epfl.ch/docu/files/ScalaByExample.pdf).
> Far be it from me to suggest that Erlang might not last
> forever, but if not this seems a possible migration path.
I took a look at that a while back, and was first
impressed with the examples in the intro of how one
could use erlang-style concurrency. I was less impressed
when I read the manual chapter on concurrency, and
discovered that it was all about Java-style concurrency.
It may be a minor point, but the problem I see is
that Scala may end up with the same problem as Java CSP
and other similar initiatives: people will still write
software in the original java style, at least as regards
concurrency.
While you can still use Scala as a nice language for
development from scratch, reusability will hinge on the
degree to which people adopt new ways of thinking.
Scala is a language worth keeping an eye on, though, IMO.
/Uffe